Friday, April 17, 2009

I've got to write about Susan Boyle. I imagine that about everybody on the planet has heard about her by now and that at least half of the world's denizens have watched at least one of the gazillion YouTube videos of herperformance on Brits Got Talent. If we're not all tired of hearing about her yet, I suppose many will be in short order. No matter.I have watched her performance maybe a couple dozen times since I first heard of her on CNN's AC360 a couple of nights ago. I fell in love with Susan the moment she walked out on stage, but I must admit, I honestly did not expect what followed when she began singing. It was a moment. A moment to behold. Everybody in the theatre and those who were watching the program live on Brit TV were treated to something special. That totally unexpected moment of victory for the underdog. It's not only that she nailed the song, that she made it her own, that she could well have been Fontyn for those 2 or 3 minutes. "The Moment" came in the wake of her opening phrase and the responses from the 3 judges and then the entire audience. It was that magic moment that few of us ever have the opportunity, the privilege, to witness.Some complain that those who prejudged her simply from her looks - her heavily browed face, her rather frizzy hair, her weight, her age, her "cheekiness" - were despicable. And so they were. And so most of us were. That's often the way of it.Nevertheless, a star was born. What next? It may be that she will not be able to live up to expectations now. How can she top that first moment? It is likely that she can't. She may well wind up winning the competition, but where she goes from there is anybody's guess. Ultimately, the glow may dim. She may, in the end be a hard sell. This sudden attention may tear her life apart. Fame has its really bad side as most of us know. I truly hope not. I hope that someone will step in if need be to help her cope with the changes that have already begun in her life. I hope somebody kisses her.I tear up every time I watch. I sing enough myself that I can relate to what she did, to what it takes to pull off that kind of performance. Ms. Boyle, I'm pulling for you from the bottom of my heart. I hope you have more great moments that you can share with the rest of us. Thank you. It was a joy.And, for your further listening enjoyment and more of Ms. Boyle's vocal acumen click onthis.Terry S.

"Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education alone will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent." - Calvin Coolidge

Thought For The Day

I'm not thorough. I'm just slow.

Food for Thought

Sometimes yes, maybe no. Sometimes no, maybe yes.

Thought For a Green Day.

"Being Irish, he had an abiding sense of tragedy, which sustained him through temporary periods of joy." -- William Butler Yeats

About Me

I am a charter member of the Boomer generation having been born in 1946. My fellow Boomers and I have lived through some incredible events - good and bad. Now my wife Jo and I are "empty nesters" faced with aging and all that comes with it. My two kids are out and about pursuing their lives. My wife and I continue to adjust to life in the slow lane.